Liverpool’s last-minute defeat to Bournemouth has handed Chelsea the chance to climb into the top four on Sunday afternoon, with a win against Crystal Palace.
Liam Rosenior has reinstated the feel-good factor at Chelsea having replaced Enzo Maresca at the start of the month, winning three of his four games and only losing to Arsenal narrowly in the Carabao Cup.
Today, Rosenior takes charge of his fifth Chelsea game in the space of 15 days, with the 5-1 FA Cup win over Charlton coming on the 10th of January. Rosenior has been forced to rotate his players constantly.
John Terry is right, Chelsea haven’t gone forwards under Liam Rosenior yet😬
Thoughts?
John Terry on Liam Rosenior's start at Chelsea
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Injuries to Cole Palmer, Malo Gusto, Tosin Adarabioyo, and Filip Jorgensen, among others, continue to keep Rosenior on his toes. Now, Rosenior has confirmed his side to face FA Cup winners Crystal Palace.
Liam Rosenior makes six changes to Chelsea XI v Palace
Chelsea are without six players on Sunday, with others in doubt as well. Romeo Lavia, Levi Colwill, Dario Essugo and Mykhailo Mudryk remain long-term absentees. Tosin and Filip Jorgensen are also injured.
Cole Palmer and Enzo Fernandez were doubts due to a groin injury and illness, but Enzo has been included in the squad. Enzo starts while England star Palmer has not been included in the squad at all.
Manchester City v Chelsea - Premier League
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From the side against Pafos, Robert Sanchez starts in goal while Trevoh Chalobah returns to central defence alongside Benoit Badiasahile. Marc Cucurella comes in for Jorrel Hato on the left side of defence.
Reece James starts over Malo Gusto at right-back, while Andrey Santos partners Moises Caicedo. Estevao comes in on the right wing, while Pedro Neto retains his starting spot. Alejandro Garnacho drops out.
Up top, unsurprisingly, struggling Liam Delap is dropped for Joao Pedro. Six changes in all as Sanchez, Chalobah, Cucurella, Estevao, Santos and Pedro replace Jorgensen, Gusto, Fofana, Hato, Neto and Delap.
Six changes made by Rosenior!
No Cole Palmer…
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Paul Merson predicts result as Chelsea expected to beat Palace
Palace away is often up there with the toughest and certainly, most physical games in the Premier League. Yet, right now, Palace are in disarray, and as Merson says, there is no better time to play the London side.
Incredibly, it is a fourth London opponent in five games, the other being from Cyprus, for Rosenior. The Blues have been backed to win 2-0 by Merson, who says anything else is a “massive disappointment”.
Pundit Paul Merson at Tottenham vs Arsenal game
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“For Chelsea, this is a must-win game and so you’d expect them to get the three points. Usually, Palace away is an incredibly tough fixture. But, no better time to face them than now,” Merson told Sports Keeda.
“Seven or eight weeks ago, Chelsea would have been happy with a draw in this game. Considering how Palace are playing at the moment, anything less than three points will be a massive disappointment now.”
A win takes Chelsea above Liverpool into fourth place, at least until later on today. All eyes will then be on fifth-place Man United and whether they can get a result against Arsenal at The Emirates.
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